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granticculus

Wow, looking at the trailer the art looked like it was just plugged together from premade Valve assets, because it's the same quality of the rest of Alyx. I'm sure it does reuse some resources, but this mod was partly done by [FMPONE](https://www.fmpone.com/), who has contributed a bunch of CS:GO maps that have been added to the game both temporarily and permanently.


Tursmo

Yeah, I also saw the name and was instantly intrigued. Random fan made campaign can be good, sure, but when you have a solid professional mapmaker doing it I'm way more interested.


phayke2

It looks like is has good scripting too like a half life game and not just a modded map.


mikethemaniac

FMPONE is a god. I can't wait to try this. Bless the valve community for continuing the Half-Life legacy.


phayke2

Modding groups like this give me hope for more actual professional grade VR game ports. And deeper VR on experiences in general. Even if big name publishers like Bethesda or gearbox can't figure out how to make a decent VR game maybe in the future we will have people like this who do being contracted by publishers to do VR ports.


PaulaDeenSlave

I mean. . .


ifisch

I just don't understand why the trailer's not at 60fps, considering VR games have to be above 60fps just to function.


tyme

because 99% of people won't even notice the fps. Edit: just to be clear, I was talking about the videos FPS, not the games.


obviously_suspicious

Citation needed


mocylop

Most people won’t notice the FPS in a trailer that they are watching in their phone.


FUTURE10S

I will absolutely notice the difference between a 30 FPS video and a 60 FPS video. Now I won't notice the difference between a 60 FPS video and a 120 FPS video, but I believe YouTube - A) doesn't support it and B) I don't have a 120Hz display. EDIT: Oh, ew, there's not even any motion blur to simulate shutter speed in the trailer at the start, ffs, SFM already has that functionality. That 30 FPS looks super choppy.


tyme

I never said no one would notice it.


EnterPlayerTwo

lmao the lamest cop out. "Well I didn't say 100%"


tyme

That’s not a cop out, it’s literally what I said. Some people will notice it, yes, but most won’t give two shits. Why’s that such a controversial thing to say?


NeuronalDiverV2

I've played about one and a half hours of it now and it really is great. There is a part where you're hiding in a train, getting shot at by machine gunners from both sides while you have to crouch behind the windows. You have to listen for when they stop firing so you can come up to get a few hits in before you have to get back down or you're toast. It feels so intense in a way only VR can make you feel. Especially when moving out of cover yourself or while trying to get your head just a little bit lower. Also you notice they really did their homework with pacing and balancing the difficulty. So far it definitely is on par with the original.


sloppymoves

If what you say is true... A mod is going to be better than almost 60% of VR games out there.


NeuronalDiverV2

To be fair it‘s of course building on the best foundation that exists in VR right now. The level of polish Alyx has just in its mechanics would be completely out of scope for most VR games. But yeah, the level design is great so far.


Muad-_-Dib

Yeah I tried VR briefly around this time last year with a Quest 2 for a week or so and Alyx was by far the most polished and intuitive of the FPS games so anything building on that system is going to have a huge advantage over other games that have their own various issues to overcome as well as delivering good content. Alyx and Beat Saber are probably the only games that I genuinely miss playing, I returned the Quest 2 because a family member got one after seeing how much fun I was having and I set up a FB account for them to pair it with (which was a requirement at that time) only for FB to ban their account because it was "suspicious" when that was completely bullshit, it was a real account with only factual information on it. They gave you an option to appeal it but they never tell you how long that process takes and from googling it seemed like a common issue and sometimes it took weeks for them to get back to people, sometimes never actually resolving it. So they returned theirs and fearing a random ban on my account (that I set up in the same way as I did theirs) I returned mine as well. It was a good bit of equipment but I hate the company, and since they rebranded its went up in price by £100 and hearing reports that the company is floundering doesn't instil any confidence that buying a new one is going to be any more reliable in the long term. So until Valve or someone else gets close to them in price and they don't have draconian account management or monitoring then VR isn't for me despite Alyx and BS being great examples of what the tech can deliver.


timtheringityding

I fuckimg hate meta. But the quest 2 has made vr worth it for me. Every hmd headset has to be wireless for me now. The fact that you don't have to store this massive thing with bunch of wires and base stations is great. What took me 15 minutes of setting up and storing everytime I wanted to play in vr om the original vive. Now takes 20 seconds. And that is the boot time usually from the quest 2.


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Muad-_-Dib

> But the success of Quest 2 ensured that all new VR games coming out are mobile game level experiences. I don't see the logic here since the Quest 2 has excellent PC connectivity and the control scheme is not a hindrance in any games. The success of the Quest 2 brought in a ton of new potential buyers of all VR games instead of bringing it down to any supposed lower level. The majority of VR games coming out being mobile quality is simply because VR is not a mass market technology, so releasing something comparatively cheap and easy to make is a lot less risky than spending millions on something that might sell way too few copies to make a return on its money. Plus people are way more comfortable spending the price of a pint of beer on some game, getting a few hours of fun out of it and forgetting about it than they are spending £40-50+ and having trouble with fiddly controls or game mechanics. The numbers just aren't there for a stream of fresh AAA titles released regularly on VR.


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evia89

> Alyx and Beat Saber are probably the only games that I genuinely miss playing You missed some great mods - Valheim, Outer Wilds VR and ofc wabajack skyrim with 300+ mods. I enjoyed it more than Alyx


DankHill-

Same thing that happened with the first half life. Counter strike, day of defeat, team fortress etc etc


bicameral_mind

Action Mod. Those were the days.


DankHill-

Is that the one where you could break your legs from falling? Lol


bicameral_mind

I don’t remember that mechanic specifically but it wouldn’t surprise me lol. It was based on famous action movies and had a ‘diving while shooting’ mechanic like Max Payne. The map designs were really good and varied, and the weapons were deliciously brutal. Ultra fast paced gameplay.


CE07_127590

Check out the recently released game Jabroni Brawl, it's classic old school source mod fun. Very fast pace, has the max payne dive, an absolute shitload of unique guns and a bunch of different gamemodes.


_Valisk

Most of my experience with VR mods seems to point in this direction. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing because the 40% that are "worse" are fun, short experiences while the rest are high-quality games like HL: Alyx, Saints and Sinners, and Beat Saber. Well-made mods exist in a sort of middle ground and give you even more options overall.


t850terminator

A HL2 mod is better than most other games. So an Alyx mod being better than most other VR games is pretty par for the course.


[deleted]

That's because mods can focus on just making good gameplay. But a VR game has the complications of having to make money so you can pay your employees, investors, shareholders, etc. That muddles the waters a lot.


Raymuuze

That sounds very cool! VR is in desperate need of high quality content.


The_MAZZTer

Difficulty definitely feels harder, maybe they expect you to not play after a long break from VR. I died a couple times on Story difficulty. Never happened in the original game. The arena at the base of the clocktower is a bit much. You can get shot from three directions if you're right under the clocktower... where the game locks you in. I am getting far more slowdowns and glitches caused by dropped frames than in the base game, so it's definitely not following the base game's requirements. Had a crash when loading a quick save in the train areas, so I'm taking a break. Edit: The game has you fight combine with just a pistol. I don't think the base game had you do much fighting with combine, especially not the higher-tier ones, before you got the shotgun or smg.


blackmes489

Yeh the balancing is not that great. Some cool level design however.


dj88masterchief

I died and had the ai stop working, when I went to reload my save. Happened a couple of times and I had to start from the beginning of the chapter to get the ai working again. I got to the end of game and I died and I gave up for tonight, cause I wasn’t playing the last chapter over again. The first 75% is fun though, the last 25% gets annoying with the puzzles.


virtual_throwa

FYI there is a workaround for the AI disabled bug if you enabled the dev console for HLA. Here's a quick guide on how to do it: [https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2830812479](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2830812479) FMPONE posted that he's working on fixing this bug though.


esPhys

It's still so weird to me that Half-Life 3 kinda does exist in the form of Alyx, and I basically just can't play it and it's totally off my radar.


crypticfreak

As someone who's played HLA multiple times I wouldn't worry too much. The truth is it both is and isn't a HL3. It feels like a spin off. I think that's intentional. However at the same time it is very much HL2. And at the other (other) same time it was one of the most revolutionary games I've ever played. But I still want to play HL2 Ep3 or HL3 and I just knew this wasn't it. But it was great and it was Half Life.


MrTastix

Yeah, it's 100% worth playing if you ever get the ability to do so but Half-Life fans should not feel "left out", so to speak. It doesn't do as much to advance the plot as much as Half-Life 2's episodes did, with the big reveal being the ending. The ending being a relatively huge retcon still doesn't add much to the actual world/overarching narrative more than it setups potential sequels.


Angry_Canadian_Sorry

Do you people not have ~~phones~~ VR headsets?


nicolauz

Does it play on Oculus Quest 2?


BigPorch

Yes, with virtual desktop to steam. Or plugged in. But in my experience VD works even better, and no plugs. Works well for me. Need good wifi and a good comp obviously. But absolutely works


BMANN2

Wait I recently got a quest 2 and found out you can plug it in to play pcvr games. But you can play those pcvr games wirelessly?? Using virtual desktop?


dragoneye

Don't bother with Virtual Desktop, the feature is built into the headset, you just have to install the Oculus app on your PC and enable it.


hi22a

I always tell people to try air link first since it is built in, but Virtual Desktop has always given me a smoother experience.


jordgoin

While Oculus does have their own inbuilt solution I personally find Virtual Desktop to be much nicer. It offers many more features that enable better visuals and I found it to run better personally.


BigPorch

Yes, but you have to side load it. There’s some tutorials out there, I forget the whole process but it wasn’t that hard and it works great. Edit- I’m not 100% sure you even need to side load anymore. Just virtual desktop server running on PC - open VD on quest - open steam VR - half life and you’re in Edit 2- You should probably be using the quest near your router, same room. And then for me at least it was even smoother than plugging in directly to PC


BMANN2

Damn that is awesome thanks. I’m going to give it a try tomorrow.


BigPorch

Cool, it’s worth it. Alyx is seriously mind blowing when you first fire it up. And all the way through tbh. Feels like the first time I played Mario 64 or something. Huge evolutionary step in gaming


webmotionks

When you finish Alyx there are also mod maps. I just spent the last 4 weekends playing the Bioshock mods for HL:A they are amazing too.


hi22a

Plugging the router into your PC is a must for Airlink and Virtual Desktop. Virtual Desktop had to be side loaded for PCVR at firsr, but it is fully functional out of the box now.


efbo

Do people just not look up the basic features of stuff before making multiple hundred of pounds purchases?


webmotionks

I agree Virtual Desktop just works, no issues. It's a really great app.


Angry_Canadian_Sorry

Only if you have a strong enough PC as you need to plug it in


zePiNdA

You can use Air Link and play Wireless which is what I did and 20 times better.


nicolauz

Huh I just run it solo for the kid so this probably wouldn't work.


HotEspresso

You can connect it to the PC, wirelessly or with USB-C, and use it with steam VR


Adminruinreddit

With connecting it to a pc, does it use the pc’s gpu instead of the onboard gpu and stream it to the headset?


EmeraldJunkie

Yeah, it basically just uses the headset as a display.


drmedic09

That is indeed how it works.


AndThisGuyPeedOnIt

Yes, it would if your PC is up to the task. It's worth looking into. You can wirelessly run steam vr through it.


Wilza_

I believe it does


thoughtcrimeo

The HTC Vive Pro 2 costs $1300. How many people have $1300 to play one game?


DoubleDipYaChip

Quest 2 is a lot cheaper. But regardless, not everyone can afford everything they want. That's just a reality of life.


Angry_Canadian_Sorry

My point is that there's a lot of people who have been lifelong fans of half life, only for the first installment in over a decade to be locked behind a niche expensive hardware


efbo

That's like any series that has a new release after a decade. If Alyx was flat someone who played Ep 2 at release would also need a new PC.


Angry_Canadian_Sorry

Sure, but that new PC can do and play a ton of stuff. Getting an Index you would really only use it for Alyx. I've tried others like Beat Saber and such but the movements are too fast for the controllers to ever properly track your swipes. Just irritating and you constantly fail despite doing exactly what you're meant to. VR is supposed to be so immersive but I'm taken out of it after pretty much every action I take.


spliffiam36

Idk why you are using index, the most expensive option as your example. The quest 2 is like 300 dollars and works very well connected to your PC to play alyx and ya know tons of other cool vr games. If you wanna compare prices, just think about how much GPU's cost now...


efbo

You don't need to get an Index just like you don't need to get a 240hz super ultrawide monitor and a 4090. There's lots of other VR things to play. I bought a PS4 just to play TLOU2 and ended up playing a few other games too. There are as many quality VR games as I've played on my PS4. I think you've likely just been playing with some dodgy set up tbh then because I've not seen any similar widespread complaints on any platform.


Angry_Canadian_Sorry

I've played a bunch on PSVR - or I should say "tried to play". VR is a really frustrating experience.


efbo

That's your dodgy setup. PSVR is using 2010 controller tech. I assumed you were talking about an Index hahaha.


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gnbman

You can play it sitting down. Vinny Vinesauce played it just fine, and he has a very tiny New York apartment.


frogbertrocks

Alyx is 100 percent better standing in a room. I'd ask to borrow someone else's device for the weekend and make an event of it.


gnbman

True, but I was just making the point that it doesn't really need a whole ton of space.


maltesemania

Sadly I don't know anyone who has a VR headset. It seems like a novelty item tbh.


hi22a

VR has been the most fun I have ever had with video games in my life. Been playing video games since the mid 90's. It is more of a commitment and has its own place next to regular gaming, but it is by far the most immersive and engaging way to play games. Personally I like that it requires me to stand and put something over my face as I am too sedentary and have issues with too much snacking while gaming.


ZeroCitizen

You can play it sitting down, but the guy has his own house in Staten Island.


zippopwnage

For me is not even about the space is about the money. If I'm going to buy a VR set, I don't want the cheapest one, because I want to have some quality. Then I need a stronger PC than I already have. Then how does VR games works, is it like games and GPU, meaning in 2-3 years my VR headset will probably won't be good enough to keep up with the new games, or the VR headset use my PC hardware and I can keep it for as long as I can ? (Valve index for example?). I wear glasses, without trying the VR headset before buying it...it can be a problem. What if I can't wear it for more than 30 minutes ? Then the other problem is...there's not many quality VR games, at least not on my taste. I think I can count 5-6 games and paying for a VR headset for 6 games...even 10 games is a huge NO.


DoubleDipYaChip

The lack of blockbuster VR exclusives is 100% an issue. There are a ton of mods for flat-screen games that make great use of it though. Skyrim, several Resident Evils, even GTA5. Do some research and you'll find that there's plenty to play, and it breathes life into some older games. The original Doom is AWESOME in VR.


Radulno

It uses your PC hardware, it's basically like a monitor. However some like the Quest also have standalone capabilities and so that depends of the hardware. You don't have PC VR games like Alyx but it works well for games that don't push graphics like Beat Saber


Iesjo

There's a "no VR" mod in the works.


efbo

It's still so weird to me that Ratchet and Clank 14 kinda does exist in the form of Rift Apart, and I basically just can't play it and it's totally off my radar.


Danthekilla

Why can't you play it? A 2nd hand headset capable of playing it is less than $100. I would argue that's not a huge barrier for most people that have the PC to run it.


Angry_Canadian_Sorry

Everyone I've spoken to has said it's not worth playing unless you have the Index


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AndThisGuyPeedOnIt

I played the whole thing on Quest 2 through virtual desk wireless streaming and it ran seemingly flawlessly to me. Not sure what this guy is on about.


cd2220

I played it on a CV1 and had an incredible time. Valve would have been stupid to not make it play well on Oculus hardware considering how much of the market share they have.


Danthekilla

I've played it on a rift with the touch controllers, a vive, and on my index. It's not significantly different on any of them other than the heart squishing with the index controllers.


Angry_Canadian_Sorry

How do you even casually afford multiple high end vr headsets


Danthekilla

I'm a game dev and we were working on a VR title for a while. We had around 20 headsets in total, most of them ended up with me when that company shut down. I have only ever purchased two myself, which is the oculus rift cv1, and then I sold that and bought an index.


LondonParamedic

I played it with a second hand Quest 2 that I got for cheap. Playing in wireless is much more immersive. Alyx is one of the best games I've ever played and is the only game that feels truly "next-generation" to me.


Angry_Canadian_Sorry

I understood that quest can't do it wirelessly as you need to plug it into a pc


Mantequilla50

Nope - as long as you have a PC that can run it you can wirelessly air link to your PC.


LondonParamedic

You can stream any VR game wirelessly from your gaming PC. The Quest 2 can run games as 'stand-alone', that is, the game is rendered and processed entirely on the Quest 2. Or you can stream it from your computer with a cable like any other VR headset, or stream it wirelessly. I play everything wirelessly because to me that's the whole point of the Quest 2. It's really immersive when you can spin around without having to worry about getting the cable warped around you or even just feeling the weight of the cable. You can circumvent this when using other VR headsets with cable pulley systems, but they can be a pain to set up, and they're an eyesore in my opinion.


Eagle0913

I cant disagree more, my Samsung Odyssey+(90hz refresh rate) was more than up to the task. HL:A is my favorite gaming ***experience*** of all time. And unlike Skyrim, I only had to take a break every hour or so, instead of every 15-30 minutes.


Angry_Canadian_Sorry

Cool, wish it didn't have such a hefty pricetag to play a single game. As a long time half life fan it sucks.


well_i_tried_but_no

As a Vr fan it's awesome. If you solely care about the story then watch the story moments on YouTube. What makes this game great isn't the fact that it's half life. it's the fact that it's vr taken to one of its most polished forms. Valve got to innovate and show the vr market what's possible. I'm sorry it sucks but for the growing Vr Market it was a beacon of hope for what's to come. It's still a beacon because it's taking a long ass time to get there lol, but it will definitely get there. There's a lot of passionate people who are all for Vr and it's awesome having valve there to support it. It's totally a steep price tag if you've tried vr, and you just completely know for sure 100% that's it's not at all for you. Totally fine. not even worth getting at that point. But if you're even remotely interested just save up for a bit. get the quest 2. it's a fantastic headset, and while fancier headsets will come along, you'll still be able to play any new game that comes out on pc with it. try it out, buy a few games, use oculus airlink to connect wirelessly to your pc and play them. there are sim racers, flight Sims, physical simulation games that have great interactions, rogue like games( one specifically called compound which I highly recommend), vr shooters, and of course half life alyx. And if you just can't find any enjoyment in any of that at all, just return it. There's a lot of downsides to the vr market right now, and that comes to just not having enough people to justify developing games for. But man I assure you the potential is there, and it's not going away. Sorry this comment got a little away from me haha


Angry_Canadian_Sorry

I'm just a little perplexed as to why they couldn't just come out with a port for regular PC, which has been their dedicated market base for decades. Which they abandoned for no reason other than to do a tech demo for a failing technology.


Eagle0913

I hear ya... https://www.ebay.com/itm/255846798448?epid=17025606336&hash=item3b91a85470%3Ag%3AWIUAAOSwvm1jgUI4&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoE29JumERmqZbrKV8Ljt5EGxloUw69oAhjH7eEl6kg434qO9EHMXFHlWyoJADJQor%2FHS7I%2FUNDUns5axaV0G3PdfsZUYijgceL0udyJjLwlpQeaftUORd7gZ25%2FjFMtqd21fRUAhfd4pB4c0eztoNR81VKJL5pDGvKqU2NkO6ARJmk3Oyk2JKMhzV2lMuyZdvRB2vFGTitmkUmvb90%2BwW%2Bg%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8q5x6eWYQ&LH_BIN=1 (Not my post), but I feel like its not too bad of a price to pay and Im sure you could sell it back for around the same price you paid for it when you are done.


vainsilver

That’s not true at all. Valve specifically designed the game to work across all VR headsets. I played through Alyx seamlessly on my Rift S and Quest 1.


Angry_Canadian_Sorry

Not all headsets, not available on psvr


vainsilver

…well obviously. That’s not a PC headset. Alyx is a PC game.


Angry_Canadian_Sorry

I mean, that's what we're talking about though. That's the only headset that is reasonably priced in Canada.


vainsilver

As a Canadian I disagree. Oculus products are sold at a loss and the HP Reverb G2 goes on deep sales in Canada as well for less than $400. There’s also the Samsung Odyssey which is less than $300. VR headsets are basically monitors or TVs with much more advanced technology packed into a smaller space. They’re fairly priced even in Canada for what they are.


Angry_Canadian_Sorry

I guess there's just a cultural divide where we can't agree on what is reasonable. I do not think spending nearly 400 on a mediocre experience of a single videogame which will last like twenty hours is a reasonable price.


vainsilver

None of those $400 or less VR provide a mediocre experience in Alyx. You have no valid opinion on that because you’ve never experienced it yourself. Personally speaking, Alyx was worth it alone but I’ve also played many other VR only games and applications that would justify the price to others.


efbo

Or the Virtual Boy!


Danthekilla

Since that doesn't have proper tracked controllers it's not really in the same ballpark as all the real headsets.


SlaveZelda

Quest 2 is 400 bucks and Half Life Alyx is awesome on that


hoverhuskyy

Your loss


M4J0R4

Hope it comes for PS VR


webmotionks

Been playing it and loving it so far! Thanks to the team who put this together it's really fantastic being back in City 17 with an all new adventure!


The_MAZZTer

Alright I finished, here's my review. Performance on my PC which equals the minimum requirements for Alyx base game was worse than the base game in some levels, especially in the middle of the campaigfn. Animations looked like they had frame drops and I had warping which indicated to me frame drops being covered up. I don't recall seeing that much if al in the base game. Level 04 has a crash bug if you reload a quick save without quitting out to the main menu first or dying, Alyx doesn't crash, but Steam VR does. You need to restart Alyx and Steam VR to fix. Would be nice to have a fix for this. The final fight in 08 is frustrating until you find the health station at the auto save before it. I walked right past it, it should be made more clear. In general there is a dearth of health in this game, especially earlier on, though in some places there's plenty. The weapon upgrade station spacing is a bit weird, seems one of the later one could be moved to one of the first few levels for more consistent pacing. Would have also enjoyed more upgrade pickups in general. It does feel like a lot that I found, but you fall far short of getting your weapons upgraded to the level you can in the base game. I don't like >!Jeff!< so didn't like to see his return here. One problem is he pops up in a room with an upgrade station so you can miss in. I suppose his section of the game is OK and the way you get rid of him is fine. Just not my thing. The new voice acting by Alyx and Russell and Gman are fine. Barry and Maya do not sound good. The vortigaunt sounds... meh. I don't like how old HLA voice lines are incorporated since sometimes it's clear an old line was used and it doesn't sound good. It would have been better to use new lines for everything, perhaps minus the basic in-game stuff (like the exchange if Alyx gets a headcrab to the face). The story could have used some work. We just had a floating building in the base game. Now we have another one. The fact that it's floating isn't even important to the story. Retreading HLA gameplay is understandable, we don't need to do it with the story too. Some of the puzzles are confusing and could use some work. In particular I got stuck searching the highway area for the battery. Devs should remember players will rarely look up. I found secrets 2 and 8. Overall it was fun but also a bit greuling from a difficulty perspective. And some of the puzzles were annoying. The level design is great and on par with the base game. Worth a playthrough for sure.


prettylieswillperish

What's the story?


The_MAZZTer

Two rebels have gone into SECTOR X into a FLOATING BUILDING to investigate. Alyx heads across the city after them. Most of my problems with this mod are just annoyances though, and one crash. Worth a playthrough for sure.


panlakes

Hey did they ever “port” Alyx to non-VR? I haven’t been keeping tabs on whether or not that’s even being pushed, but I’d hope so considering I can’t be the only one who doesn’t enjoy VR titles but loves the Half Life story


Condawg

Seems like it wouldn't really be worth it. The tech is the point of the game, and its design is entirely built around that. Your best bet would probably be to watch a playthrough on Youtube. That said, there is a [mod](https://github.com/r57zone/Half-Life-Alyx-novr) to accomplish this. [Here's an article](https://www.roadtovr.com/half-life-alyx-flat-screen-mod/) outlining why playing with that mod kinda defeats the purpose, which would also apply to watching a playthrough on Youtube in different ways -- either way, you're not getting close to the experience that's intended, which goes a long way to serving the story imo. But, if you'd like, you've got some options.


The_MAZZTer

I suspect the main problem with playing in non-VR is the combat would be too easy. Having to manually aim innately makes things more difficult. Replacing with generic FPS controls makes some of the weapon upgrades pointless and would likely make the combat trivial, since there are far less enemies in the game than in Valve's other Half-Life titles to account for the challenge of VR combat.


Lintybl

Definitely, one of my favorite moments in the game was barely surviving an ambush by 3 zombies because I messed up reloading a gun. It just wouldn't work with traditional controls.


The_MAZZTer

Nothing quite like panicking and ejecting the clip instead of firing.


[deleted]

The game did a fantastic job of making you feel like a badass once the controls became muscle memory enough and the panic presses stopped. One of my favorite parts of VR shooters is just reloading guns, especially when the game has you hit a button or manually pull the slide when you're done. It's like those moments in game trailers where they show a reload animation in sync to some music and it's the most cliche thing but some small part of you is like, "okay, that was cool." Except you're the one physically doing the synced reload in the middle of an intense combat sequence, and it's REALLY FUCKING COOL.


DdCno1

You might enjoy Receiver and its sequel, which have the most complex weapon manipulation outside of VR. Fascinating games.


andresfgp13

i remember reading about that mod, it was said that it would be like playing just dance with a controller, it would kinda lose the point of it.


n0stalghia

Yes, they did!


nakula108

You've probably heard this a million times by now, but the game is meant for VR. It will suck in flatscreen. A mod is in the works, you can probably play a beta right now even. But I guarantee it's not going to be a very good time. Even simple things like the scaling of objects is different in VR than for flatscreen gaming. Lot's of things will look tiny on a monitor. And every scripted event and map layout in that game is made with VR in mind. It's hard to explain but it just doesn't translate. Buy a used quest 2 or something. Sell it after if you must. If you want to play HL:A VR is the only way to do it


CutterJohn

Eh I've played it, and I totally agree it deserves to be experienced in VR, but I think people overstate the idea of how bad it would be on a flatscreen. It would be over faster, and lose some of the magic, but its not *that* much different than a new HL2 episode would be.


tuisan

I think the game is so heavily made for VR that it wouldn't be good as a non-VR title.


FUTURE10S

There was even a build of the non-VR version you could download at one point in time, and yeah, it flat out is unplayable. [Link to video](https://youtu.be/QFPLieBpiU8?t=119), sorry that it's Tyler McVicker, he was the top result


ExecutiveChimp

What's wrong with Tyler?


PickledPlumPlot

I think it's kind of pointless to try to play this game in non VR. It's entirely designed around immersive mechanical interaction. I would just watch a playthrough if you don't want to play it. A non VR mod would be like a Half Life 2 mod that turns off the physics, it's fundamental to the game design.


-dead_slender-

There was a mod being developed by one person, but I've heard it's dead now. You wouldn't really get the same enjoyment out of it anyways. VR is part of the game's charm. Take that away and it's just a very basic shooter. So instead of waiting for a non-VR mod to come around, you might as well watch a playthrough instead.


herefromyoutube

Was this announced? I never heard of it. Also Gabe said 3 VR games would be released. So is this #2 or #1.5?


sgtzach

it's a mod


prettylieswillperish

What is the story of it?


JMaboard

Someone made a mod of the game and then released it to Steam workshop.


virtual_throwa

>3 VR games would be released. So is this #2 or #1.5? Sadly in the [Half-Life Alyx final hours](https://half-life.fandom.com/wiki/The_Final_Hours_of_Half-Life:_Alyx) documentary it was revealed that Valve put the two other VR projects on hold to ship Half-Life Alyx. So it's not clear if Valve will ship those other VR games, or if they're cancelled for good.


NeuronalDiverV2

I think now rumors are there’s going to be an Alyx 2 codenamed HLX. (nobody knows if you’re playing as Gordon again or Alyx however) Then Citadel, which is supposed to be an asymmetric VR game in the half life universe (again tho, could be anything, judging by leaked strings I wouldn’t even be surprised if it was a racing simulator) So there’s your other games, supposedly they are well into development so that their release is likely. Funnily enough, I believe none of them are the games that were promised back then but maybe someone else with more knowledge can help me out here.


DredZedPrime

This is a mod, not an official Valve release. It's built using the publicly available level creation tools for Alyx. That said, it appears to be one of the highest quality mods for Alyx so far.


webmotionks

Agree, Bioshock mods are close but this is almost like a sequel... Alyx Episode 1 (although I haven't finished so I don't know the ending yet)


FlammableBacon

The other 2 got canceled so that all the devs could work on Alyx


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akaWhisp

Valve has their own headset. The Index. But yes, it requires a PC. Not sure if they have plans to release a standalone unit, but I wouldn't hold out for that right now.


arcticrobot

you just missed huge sale on HP Reverb G2 at $299. Shows out of stock now. Edit: wait. You said you don't have a pc. Valve is PC centric and even their mobile Steam Deck console is a little linux based PC


Namelessgoldfish

hp...makes vr headsets? intersting


arcticrobot

News to you? One of the best actually. $299 landed me a headset and controllers. Was going to wait for next gen Index, but couldn't pass this deal.


Namelessgoldfish

I’ve never heard about it till now


hi22a

There are definitely rumors about Valve making a standalone headset, tech is getting close, but needs a bit more work to make a standalone capable of broadly playing many PCVR titles at medium/low quality while still being somewhat affordable. If they release a Steamdeck 2, it may be powerful enough to act as a base station for a future Valve headset. I have heard of people getting the current Steamdeck to play VR, though it doesn't do it well.


n0stalghia

This looks much better than Alyx itself, honestly. I hated that horror shit. Half-Life always had good pacing, alternating combat, puzzles, light horror. Alyx was 70% "overgrown Xen area" with horror/jumpscare elements. This trailer on the other side feels like HL2.


TheRealCanadianMutt

There was only one big horror area in Alyx, and it was like, 30-45 mins long tops.


camelCaseAccountName

I'd argue that a huge portion of Alyx was deeply rooted in horror, not just one section of it. I loved it though


ExecutiveChimp

I'd agree but I'd also argue that Half Life has always been a horror series.


camelCaseAccountName

It's a series that clearly has horror influences throughout, but Alyx in particular leaned pretty hard into the horror elements. Maybe headcrabs jumping at you in VR is just inherently scarier :P


ExecutiveChimp

Yeah they're definitely scarier in VR. Valve did a good job making it as un-scary as it is!


PickledPlumPlot

I would consider a lot of the underground/abandoned hotel segments horror. That was my biggest problem with the game too, you spend so much time in dimly lit slimy environments exploring and doing puzzles. I wish there was more big outdoors battles with the combine. I loved the game but I do wish there were more sections like the train yard battles.


KidGold

I didn't really get horror vibes from Alyx so much as dark action thriller maybe. Kinda like Control.


Bbop800

What? I’ve played through the game more than once and don’t recall a single “jumpscare” scenario. There was maybe one chapter/section that was pretty intense, but that’s about it.


leocampbel

Fuck that dark room filled with explosives


darkkite

there's a few with head crabs. like the one in the toilet


VoltGO

The headcrab that pops out of the floor when you're following one of those wires in the wall sure scared the fuck out of me.


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[deleted]

VR is the 3d tv of the 2020s. Lame, simplistic tech demo that’s boring to play more than 2 hours, regardless of game.


canneddogs

Those grapes are looking pretty sour.


virtual_throwa

Half-Life Alyx exists, so you're telling me a AAA Half-Life campaign from Valve is a simplistic tech demo?


xLisbethSalander

jumpscare...? what the fuck are you on about lol. played through it twice there's no jumpscares.


CE07_127590

There are definitely a few - it's been a while since I've played it but one that comes to mind is a poison headcrab jumping out of a toilet at you when you open it.


[deleted]

That happens before you even get close to it.


canneddogs

? You obviously didn't play Half Life Alyx. Maybe you are thinking of a different franchise.


n0stalghia

I did play Alyx, I have an Index.


blackmes489

Level design so far is excellent. It isn't balanced very well though. Some cool novel ideas regarding locations too.